In the story of Moses, Aaron and Pharaoh during the plagues of Egypt, there is a question about whether humanity has free will to choose obedience to the divine. An important question we all must ask is “Am I truly free to follow God?”For example, in Exodus 10:1 regarding Pharaoh, the Bible indicates that God has “hardened his heart.” In fact, the Torah mentions the “hardening” of Pharaoh’s heart 20 times. The first 10 occurrences are in relation to the first five plagues in which we are told that “Pharaoh” hardened his heart. This note seems to indicate that Pharaoh makes the choices. For the next 10 occurrences to a “hardened heart,” in the last five plagues we are told that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.In the ancient Near East, the heart is considered the
